Like Your Namesakes
by StarzXAndXMoon
Summary: Harry James and James Sirius have a little one-on-one and a small trip down memory lane after Albus takes the fall for James's misdeed. Literally. Rated T to be safe.


**Okay, so I changed it. I realized that I may not be writing a collection of drabbles anytime soon. So I changed the title of the story and the summary to better suit it (as well as editing a few things). Well I hope you all enjoy it. **

**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe is not mine. It is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. **

**StarzXAndXMoon**

* * *

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"

Harry James Potter was absolutely furious, to say the least. What he had barely witnessed just 5 minutes ago was something no parent was really a stranger to, but this was shocking and something he never expected from _any_ of his children.

He thought he and Ginny had taught their kids better, especially he himself. He himself had lectured James, Albus and Lily about using certain spells in a manner that usually held consequences of the misfortunate kind, not just for the victim of the spell, but for the spell caster as well. Harry understood that siblings would be siblings and would often tease each other. But what James had just done was just downright bullying, and to his brother Albus of all people. And what was worse was that it was strongly reminiscent of an event he witnessed a long, long time back.

The culprit in question was looking anywhere but at him, his eyes determined to stare at the ground below. James knew that what he did to Albus was wrong, _very wrong_. But his father was in 'Auror-interrogator-mood'. And when he was in 'Auror-interrogator-mood', let's just say that if any of the deceased Death Eaters rose back from the dead, they would be sent straight back down with just one look at his father's face. Whenever his father was this mad (and this rarely ever happened), there really was no point in trying to get a word in until he was done speaking; so far the only person who could do so without getting yelled at even further was James's mother. He did what was not only one of the smarter decisions he could make, but also the stupidest decision he could make at this point- he stayed quiet.

"James, just explain to me why the bloody hell was Albus hanging in mid-air upside down?" Harry yelled once more.

Now I'm in real trouble, James thought. Whenever his father was mad at them, he rarely swore. So at this point, one can imagine just how furious he was.

"Albus provoked me!" James protested. And he wasn't going to stop there. Before his father could continue to scold him, he continued. "He was going on and on about just how he became prefect and that I wasn't as good in studies as he was and that all I was good at was getting into trouble! But it's not like Albus hasn't gotten into trouble himself!" Harry's angered expression faltered for a moment at this sudden proclamation from his son.

"Everyone in our family was all like 'Well done Albus' and 'Way to go Albus' and 'We're so proud of you Albus'. I didn't even get the chance to tell everyone about how I became captain of the Quidditch team!" James normally was not the kind of person who usually poured out his emotions, and this surprised both James and Harry.

"You became Quidditch captain?" Harry asked whose anger had temporarily left him and was replaced with surprise.

"Yeah, but it's not like anyone cares." James said bitterly. "_Oh nooooo_. It's always about Albus! Albus, Albus, Albus! Why the hell does everyone dote over Al and Lily more than me? I'm the oldest! Shouldn't I get more attention?" James suddenly realized the tear that fell down his cheek.

Harry abandoned his anger completely and wiped away the tear from his son's face. It didn't matter how mad he was right now, he didn't want to see his son crying. It reminded him of his days in Privet Drive as a small boy, when he would not be comforted when he was upset, where no one would wipe away his tears; the Dursleys would only tell him to stop crying, otherwise the neighbours would hear them. James made no effort to move away.

"Who says we don't dote over you James? Don't you know that we all love you and care for you?" Harry murmured in a fatherly tone.

"But Albus looks exactly like you. And he's more like you than I am." James sobbed out. He wasn't going to do this. He was not going to bawl like a baby. He would not bring out his emotions for anyone to see. Not even his father. He was 16 for Merlin's sake.

"That doesn't mean I love him anymore than I love you or Lily." Harry said. That was the last thing he thought he would hear from James. He was always so confident about himself that it almost scared him sometimes. He could somehow feel his father's and Sirius's presence whenever he saw his eldest son.

Ever since he was born and he saw the boy's eyes for the first time; they were confused and alert, examining this new world. It may have been him, but Harry could have sworn he saw a twinkle in his eye. Not like the twinkle that Albus Dumbledore held in his eyes. He had seen it in Sirius's eyes whenever he talked about his school days with James, Remus and Peter. He would have a nostalgic look on his face and a twinkle in his eyes as he remembered the pranks he and his friends pulled in school. It was also familiar because he had seen that same twinkle many a time in the eyes of Fred and George Weasley, usually when they were up to something. Since Fred's death, the twinkle in George's eyes had disappeared completely, but it had returned shortly after, albeit a little dimmer and not as noticeable as it had been when he was younger.

Anyway, when Harry saw that twinkle in his son's eyes, he knew from that moment that he would make his namesakes proud of him.

Right now, Harry did not see that twinkle. It was hidden through stormy eyes that refused to show any emotion at the current situation. This sudden insecurity showed just how much like his uncle Ron he was.

"James Sirius Potter, the reason I'm mad at you is because what you did to Albus reminded me of what I once witnessed a long time ago." Harry started. It was best that James knew why this really ticked him off. This statement had piqued James's curiosity, and he wasn't afraid to show that.

"When I was about your age, I once landed into my old Potions master's Pensieve." Harry stated, remembering it all too well. James nodded in understanding. He wondered just how his father managed to even end up in Severus Snape's office in the first place since everyone in the Weasley family (or related to them) knew that his father and Severus Snape never saw eye to eye, much like his grandfather and his father's godfather. However he was more curios about what happened next.

"I ended up in one of Snape's memories. This was during his fifth year, during OWLs. You see James, Severus Snape's school days were not happy ones. He was picked on and teased by the other students. Most of the teasing came from your namesakes."

James was surprised. He had heard so many great things about James I and Sirius that he had no idea that they were bullies. He didn't even know that Snape and the Marauders were in the same year.

"Well it turns out that the memory that I was seeing was one of his worst. You see, that was the day he lost his best friend; Lily Evans. Your grandmother."

James's jaw fell slack. He had no idea that Snape and Grandma Lily had been friends. It just seemed…so unlikely. She had been a Gryffindor and he had been a Slytherin. Those two just did NOT mix together. But who was to say so? Considering that Albus and Scorpius Malfoy, a Gryffindor and Slytherin respectively, were best friends, he couldn't exactly retort.

"But…how c-could they…?" James stuttered.

"I know," Harry nodded in understanding. "I was just as shocked. Anyway, the day Snape lost my mother as his friend; he had faced some very serious bullying from my father and my godfather. You want to know what they did? Or better yet, what my father had done?"

James felt his breath hitch in his throat. He had a very strong suspicion on what his grandfather had done. He just couldn't believe it.

"He used _Levicorpus_ on Snape." He barely whispered. Harry had to lean in further to hear him. "Yes. Just like what you did with Albus. Except unlike you, he did it in public." Harry said gravely. He pressed his lips together as he thought about what happened that day.

"Didn't anyone try to stop him? What about Sirius?" James asked, frantic.

"Sirius egged him on."

"Teddy's dad?"

"He pretended not to notice."

"What about Peter Pettigrew?" At this point, James was desperate.

"Who was he to interfere?" Each response was graver and bitterer than the last. James had lost hope, but then he realized…"But Grandma Lily stopped him." He cried.

His father nodded. "That's right. She yelled at your grandfather, he asked her out. You know what happens." James had, for the first time since this argument began, smiled, though faintly. Yes, he was aware that before Grandma Lily married Granddad James, she refused to even go on a date with him until their seventh year. He could relate very well.

"I'm sure you would know quite well wouldn't you James?" Harry remarked with a half-smile. Ever since his third year, James had been trying to get a girl in his year named Kayla Pritchard (who was a redhead) to go out with him, and has so far, not gotten even an 'I'll-think-about-it'. Well he did actually, however the girl in question ended that statement with a very loud and a very final 'not'.

James smiled sheepishly. 'I guess sometimes history does repeat itself,' he thought. But that thought only reminded him about what he and his grandfather had done. The smile vanished from his face almost immediately and he stared at Harry's face with a serious expression.

"What happened next?" He asked.

"Well, when Snape was finally let down, instead of thanking your grandmother for helping him, you know what he said?"

James could tell by his father's grave tone that it wouldn't end well. "What?" he dared to ask.

"He called her a mud-blood." Harry looked away from James for a moment. That memory never brought any pleasant feelings, especially the part where Snape called his mother a terrible name. There was silence in Harry's office as James absorbed this information.

"Right at her face?" He choked out finally. Harry nodded solemnly.

James's hands clenched into fists, "That greasy-haired bastard." He muttered through a set jaw.

"Well, it's not like he's here for you to say that to his face." Harry mumbled, more to himself than James. He normally would have reprimanded his children for degrading Snape like that, since he had done so much for Harry (or really, for Lily), but now wasn't the time. He looked over at his eldest born, who looked just about ready to explode. "James, what's happened, has happened-"

He was interrupted by James however "How can you say that? Weren't you mad at Snape?" He yelled.

"Beyond mad. And I wasn't afraid to show it then. But let me finish James. After Snape said it, he regretted it right after, for that was how he lost his only true friend."

"But he was a future Death Eater, so he was obviously friends with the other Death Eaters that attended Hogwarts." James said matter-of-factly. James II was aware that Voldemort had followers in Hogwarts, even during his grandparents' school years.

"Yes, but my mother was his only **real** friend. And he lost her." Harry said. Another silence followed.

"Do you understand what I'm trying to get through here, son?" Harry asked hopefully. James only blinked at him. Harry leaned back on his desk, slightly. "What you did to Albus was _very_ wrong. Now, I want to promise me never, ever, _ever_ under any circumstances, ever use that spell on any member of our family or any of your friends or your brother's and sister's friends."

"Uncle Percy and Scorpius Malfoy included?" James said this with all seriousness; however Harry did not fail to miss the familiar 'troublemaker's twinkle' –as he dubbed it- in his eldest son's eyes.

"Yes James. Even Uncle Percy and Scorpius. Every one in our family, blood relation or not; not to mention your friends and your siblings' friends."

"Dad, you can just say never to use the spell." James interrupted. 'Dad can be so thick sometimes.' he thought.

Harry looked sheepish and there was a tinge of pink on his cheek. "I know," Harry started. He then leaned closer to James and whispered. "But do you really understand what I'm saying here James?"

James shook his head.

"That day, Snape lost any chance of trying to rebuild a friendship that was already strained because he made the decision of delving into the Dark Arts. Would you like it if the relationship you have with Al is ruined because of you? Would you want to lose him as your brother?"

James bowed his head, hoping that his father would not notice the tears were welling up again, so pretended to bend down and tie his shoelace. In response to his father's question, he shook his head. He wiped away a stray tear that fell, and Harry pretended not to notice the motion; rather he looked the other way.

"I don't need to tell you what to do at this point; I _know_ you know what it is you should do." Harry said.

James stood up and looked up at his father. His father's eyes – and Albus's eyes – were very intense and powerful, they could just as easily hide away any signs of emotion as they could portray emotion in them. In his father's eyes, he could see emphaty and wisdom. Something he more or less saw in those eyes whenever his father was giving himself and Albus some advice.

"I'll apologize to Albus. Thanks Dad." James said, and went forward to hug his father. Harry returned the embrace. He was proud to see his eldest child had learnt a lesson. And with that, James ran up the stairs to apologize to Albus.

Harry looked out at him and smiled. "He's a lot like you, Sirius. And you too, Dad. But at least he learns from his mistakes before it's too late."

What neither Potter realized, was that the youngest Potter boy, hidden under the Invisibility Cloak, was listening the whole time, and was shedding tears of sadness and joy.


End file.
